To be Young again
by rosenquist
Summary: Mentally kidfic. Alternative story to Fallen. Jack wants to get custody of a descended Daniel who’s got a mind of a child but physically an adult. Rated it K plus to be on the safe side. Part 3 now betaed, part 1 & 2 will be soon too.
1. Chapter 1

Title: To be Young again #1/?

Author: Rosenquist

Spoilers: Fallen

Category: Gen ficlet. Alternative Fallen story. Series.

Summary: Jack wants to get custody of a descended Daniel who's got a mind of a child but physically an adult.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Stargate SG-1 I just borrowing them. I don't get any money out of this.

Warnings: None what I can think of

Word count: 499

Jack was happy that they found a descended Daniel on Vis Urban, but sadly Daniel wasn't his normal self not enough that he got amnesia, but a mind of a young child too, but physically an adult.

Now he needed to convince Daniel to go home with them, if it only were that easy.

"Danny please. Come home with us."

"No! I want to stay here and play!"

"Danny you can play at home, now come on."

"No! My home is here and I don't know you."

"But we know you and when you get your memories back you'll know us too. Now come on Danny."

"No!" Daniel said and stamped his foot in a beginning of a tantrum.

"I hoped we could get you to come with us willingly, Daniel you have to come with us no matter if you want to or not." Jack said firmly.

"Since none of you are his biological family you canot just force him to go with you. If Arrom wants to stay here with us he is welcome."

"Sorry but that is out of the question, Daniel is going with us." Jack said firmly.

The natives went in front of Arrom to shield him from the strangers that wanted to force him to leave.

"Please step away from Daniel or we'll use force." Jack warned while grabbing at his gun.

"O'Neill, we better solve this diplomatically." Jonas said.

Jack stared irritated at Jonas. "Quinn I'm sure you want Daniel to stay here, so he won't take back his rightful place at SG-1 as soon as he's back to his normal self."

Jonas looked hurt at Jack. "That is not true O'Neill. I really do hope that he comes back with us, but I have a feeling if Daniel was his normal self he wouldn't want us to solve this with weapons."

Jack was about having a fit with Jonas but Sam stopped him, "Colonel, Jonas is right. We better go back to SGC and find a way to solve this problem without force.

Sam turned her attention to the natives, "What if our law gives one of us custody of Daniel? Are we then allowed to take him home without Daniel's acceptance?"

The natives asked what it meant to have custody and Sam explained it to them. They agreed if their law said that they were responsible for Arrom then they could take him with them even if he didn't want to.

"So Carter we're just going to leave Danny here alone with the natives? What if they hide him from us when we get back?"

"Yes for now sir. I think we can trust them. We need to debrief with General Hammond and then get professionals to exam Daniel here, so they can find out if Daniel is able to decide about his own welfare or if he should be declared incompetent."

Jack rolled his eyes. "He's got a mind of a four year old Carter."


	2. Chapter 2

To be Young again # 2

A/N: Thanks for your great reviews.

SG-1 was greeted with the usual guards with weapons as soon as it turned out that there were no threat General Hammond greeted them in the gate room. Hammond noticed the troubled looks on the members of SG-1's faces.

"Colonel what's wrong? You didn't find the lost city, did you?"

"No sir. But we found something more valuable." Jack said.

"Colonel, what did you find that is more valuable than the lost city?"

"Daniel, sir, though he isn't quiet himself yet, but I hope it'll change soon."

General Hammond wasn't sure he heard the Colonel right. "Colonel, did you mean Daniel Jackson? Is he still ascended?"

"No sir. He's descended…"

"That's nice to hear Colonel, so why isn't he here with you?" Hammond interrupted Jack.

"He didn't want to come with us sir? We tried our best to convince him to come home."

"Why didn't he want that Colonel? He has too many knowledge about the SGC. We can't risk that our enemies get him in their hands, so you have to go back and get him back by force."

"Well sir, Daniel got amnesia so you don't have to be afraid that he'll rattle on us and besides he's got some screws lose at the moment sir. All he wants on Vis Urban is to play in the dirt."

"Play in the dirt, Colonel?" Hammond looked bewildered at the Colonel.

"Yes sir. We better continue this at the debriefing sir."

"You're right Colonel. Debriefing in one hour."

"Sir you better call Dr. Fraiser, a lawyer and a psychiatrist, but please not McKenzie, to the debriefing."

General Hammond looked surprised at the Colonel. "If you think it's important that they're at the debriefing I'll contact them, Colonel. I'm looking forward for the debriefing."

At the debriefing they agreed to Carter's idea to get Dr. Fraiser and a psychiatrist to go off-world and examining Daniel and find him a guardian if he needed one, Jack told them that he would gladly take Daniel under his wings. The General told him that he would let the professionals decide who would be the best guardian for Daniel.

General Hammond let them have time to prepare for their upcoming mission so the mission getting Daniel back was scheduled the next morning.

"We shouldn't have left Daniel there we should have just grapped him and gone through the gate. I don't like him being there without us not even for one second. He's a trouble magnet much can happen to him and especially now in the mental state he's in."

"I feel the same way colonel, but you heard what the natives said that we couldn't just take him since we're not his family. We have enough enemies as it is and we for sure don't need more…sir." Carter said.

"Indeed." Came from Teal'c.

Jack didn't respond to Carter's speech, he just silently left Teal'c and Carter alone in the briefing room.

'Tomorrow, Danny. Tomorrow we'll get you home.' Jack thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: To be Young again #3/?

Author: Rosenquist

This part has now been betaed by eilidh, thank you very much eilidh.

Thank you all for your great reviews. Hope to repost part 1 & 2 soon which is at my beta at the moment.

It took a long time before they could talk Danny into letting the doctor examine him. That wasn't the worst part though. Trouble really began in earnest when it was time for Janet to take some blood samples.

"No needles! You can't make me!"

"Daniel, please. I need to take a blood sample from you for testing. I promise you'll get a candy bar if you're a good boy and let me finish the test without fuss," Janet said.

Daniel bit his lip. He wanted a candy bar really bad, but not the needles. "Give me the candy bar first."

"Daniel," Jack warned.

"My _name_ is Arrom, and I want the candy bar now," he said, crossing his arms in protest.

"Firstly, your real name is Daniel, and I'll call you that or Danny, nothing else. Secondly, you get the candy bar after you've let Janet take some blood, or not at all."

Snapping on her gloves, Janet looked up at Daniel and asked him soothingly, "Do you want to hold someone's hand while I do the test?"

Daniel thought about it for a few minutes and then nodded. "I want Shamda hold my hand."

Shamda nodded and went to Arrom, holding his hand while Janet took the blood test. Jack felt a pang of jealousy stirring in his chest; he'd silently hoped Daniel would turn to him for support.

As though Sam knew what Jack was thinking, she whispered closed to his ear, "Sir, Daniel doesn't know us yet. I'm sure if he had it would have been you he turned to for comfort."

Jack didn't trust his emotions just yet so he just nodded.

All this time Dr. Wells, a psychiatrist from the SGC, was observing Daniel's reactions and general behavior, making notes. When Janet was finished with her exam, he took a moment to talk to Daniel, but the patient wasn't being very cooperative. Not wanting to further upset Daniel, he decided he had observed enough from his interaction with SG-1, Doctor Fraiser, and the natives to make an informed psych evaluation.

"So, Dr. Wells, we can take Daniel home now, right? You can see what he's like, that he's incompetent. There's no way we can leave him here," Jack asked in a hopeful tone.

"I can't just declare him incompetent here. We need the lawyer and a judge for that. I can only give them my professional opinions about Daniel Jackson's mental state."

"Further to that, Colonel, I need to get these samples back to the SGC for DNA profiling to confirm he is actually Daniel Jackson. "

Jack didn't like what he was hearing one bit. "You seriously expect us to leave him here while you both run your tests?"

"Sorry, Colonel, I'm afraid it will take more than one day. DNA tests can't be rushed and they take time to analyze."

"Doc, we don't need a DNA test. I'm 100 percent sure that this is our Daniel."

"Sorry sir, but I don't think your medical expertise will be enough to convince General Hammond."

"Okay then. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Danny, no way am I going to let him alone with the natives again."

"Sir, if you want to become Daniel's legal guardian you'll need to return to the SGC for the hearing," Carter said.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing back a quickly forming headache, and looked across at Daniel chatting quietly with Shamda. He was choice-less really, and the natives had cared well for Daniel so there was no reason to start distrusting them now. Still, there was no way he was leaving Daniel here without some back up. Nodding his head in silent but reluctant agreement, Jack called Ferretti over, "You stay here and keep an eye on our boy. Talk to him if you can, we'll be back as soon as we can."


	4. Chapter 4

To be Young again #4

By Rosenquist

Warnings: none

Sorry you had to wait so long for this new chapter. I promise you won't have to wait that long for part 5.

A/N: Thank you so much eilidh for betaing this story for me.

A judge was called in to preside over the hearing, and not having adequate clearance, had to sign a non disclosure agreement. Knowledge of the Stargate Program being paramount, he was only told what he needed to know so he could do his work. Hammond had made sure the judge knew Daniel needed to be with someone that had the proper level of clearance, since it was possible he may one day remember his work with the Stargate, and they couldn't risk knowledge of the program falling in to un-authorized hands. There was no way Shamda could be given custody of Daniel, but the question was, was Colonel Jack O'Neill the right one to take care of him?

The judge readily agreed to declare Daniel Jackson in-capable of taking care of his own needs, and to know what would be best for him. Despite this, he would have to talk with Colonel Jack O'Neill to find out if the man was taking on Jackson's burden of care out of a sense of obligation, or genuine desire to care for his former team mate.

It didn't take long for the judge to realize that Colonel O'Neill's intent was borne out of friendship and not obligation. The truth was laid bare in the Colonel's eyes. This man wanted nothing more than to protect and care for Daniel Jackson in every way that he could.

With every confidence in Colonel O'Neill's ability to care for Jackson, the judge awarded him sole custody over Dr, McKenzie's recommendation that the young made be place in a home and receive professional help.

The judge further recommended the psychiatrist that had originally evaluated Daniel Jackson be responsible for his therapy. This proved to be a wise decision as the Colonel had no intention of letting Dr. McKenzie have any control over Daniel's therapy, and preferred he deal with someone he was more familiar with.

oOo

Jack was relieved to have custody of Daniel and just wanted to get him home. Just thinking about how the judge had turned Dr. McKenzie down put a huge smile on his face.

With the judge's final decision ringing in his ears, Jack hurried to the gate room, not needing to say anything to Sam, Teal'c, and Hammond what his intention was, it was obvious they knew. All kitted up ready for gate travel, Jack smiled brightly and said, "Well, kids. Let's get our boy home."

oOo

The only member of SG-1 that didn't return to Vis Uban was Jonas Quinn. After seeing the look of pure delight spread across the Colonel's face he knew he wasn't invited and chose to stand in the gate room with Hammond as the real SG-1 walked through the gate to bring their lost fourth home.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

To be Young again #5

By Rosenquist

Thank you so much eilidh for betaing this story for me.

Dr. Fraiser and Dr. Wells strode into the gate room just as the gate shut down and the iris spun into place, their faces flush with concern.

"Sir," Janet said looking up at the general as he approached them. "Dr. Wells and I were hoping to catch SG-1 before they left. We have some concerns that needed to be addressed before they return to collect Dr. Jackson."

"I'm sorry, you just missed them Doctor, what sort of concerns do you feel need addressing?"

"I'm sure you are aware Daniel didn't want to come with them back to Earth, and we were worried how he would go about persuading him," Janet said flicking her gaze between Hammond and Jonas. "Did the colonel say anything to you sir before gating out?

"Any trust that the Colonel and Daniel may have fostered could be damaged if his team returns to the planet and tries using force to get him to return." Dr. Wells fisted his hands in his pockets and with a sigh looked up at the gate. "How they respond to Dr. Jackson now will determine whether he'll be accepting of the Colonel becoming his caregiver."

"I'm sorry Doctors' he didn't mention anything to me." Hammond looked across at Jonas and the young man shrugged. "Clearly we needed to give this situation a little more thought than we did. Perhaps it would be best if we called SG-1 back."

"I think it's a little too late for that, sir, but might I suggest that Dr. Wells and I be allowed to gate to Vis Uban to offer our assistance?"

General thought about Dr. Frasier's request and then nodded. "I'll get an airman to follow you through the gate for your protection. You better hurry and get ready for gate travel. I'll inform the Colonel that you are on your way."

oOo

Colonel Jack O'Neill was a man with a purpose. No sooner had the gate shut down and he was pointing SG-1 towards the ruins of Vis Uban in search of their missing fourth. "Let's move people, and bring our boy home."


	6. Chapter 6

To be Young again # 6

By Rosenquist

A/N: See header from part 1. Thank you Eilidh for betaing this story for me.

They had just reached the perimeter of the city when Jack's radio came to life and the voice of General Hammond squawked out at him. Frustration built as he listened to the general's message. Whilst he could understand the doctors' reasoning for treading carefully there was no way he wanted to say or do anything that would cause Daniel not to trust him. Restless to return to his friend he ordered Carter back to the gate to wait for Fraiser and Wells while he and Teal'c pressed on to the nomad encampment.

Jack wasn't surprised to see Daniel playing in the dirt again, though his modeling talents had improved in the shape of a pyramid sand sculpture. He had a feeling Daniel had probably been a talented artist as a child. Off to one side, just close enough to keep a close eye on Daniel but far enough away so as not to agitate him with his presence was Ferretti still watching his six.

When Jack was at Daniel's side he said, "Hey Danny. How are you doing? I can see you've been busy."

Daniel didn't respond but turned his back and moved closer to Shamda. Hiding his hurt and disappointment, Jack looked up at Teal'c who went after Daniel while he went to talk to Feretti.

"How's he been while we were gone?"

"Like one of their own, sir. His behavior has been pretty much the same. I've tried to interact with him a few times but he's pretty much ignored me in favor of the natives. How did the hearing go?"

Jack smiled brightly. "I got sole custody of him and we're here to bring him home."

"Great news, sir. How are you going to go about doing that? I get the feeling he won't go quietly."

Jack's smile faded. "You're right which is why Carter is on her way with Dr. Wells and Dr. Fraiser, hopefully they can help convince him to come. I guess doc could sedate him as a last resort, but I'm hoping it won't be necessary."

Jack went to talk with Shamda. "Can I talk to you for a moment, please," he asked, his gaze shifting from the old nomad then to Daniel. "Alone?"

Shamda nodded, bent down to Arrom, and whispered, "I need to talk to Colonel O'Neill alone for a few moments. Why don't you complete your pyramid and when we're finished you can show me your creation."

"But I want to play with you," Arrom said with a pout. "O'neel can talk to his own people instead."

"Arrom! It is our custom to treat our visitors with respect and I expect you to do the same," Shamda warned.

"But I don't wanna! They wanna take me away from you! They are mean!"

"Do you want to spend some time in the tent again, without your toys? Perhaps you could spend that time considering your behavior."

Arrom hurried to shake his head, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. "No Shamda. That is boring."

"Then I expect you to apologize to O'Neill."

Jack studied the interaction between Shamda and Daniel, noting the mans subtle but firm approach to discipline. Perhaps the old man could teach Jack a few tricks to dealing with a sulky Daniel.

Daniel looked down on the ground when he said, "Sorry O'Neel."

"That's okay Daniel. Call me Jack it's easier to say than O'Neill. Go play with your pyramid Daniel. When I've talked to Shamda maybe you could show me your art too, I would love that."

Daniel didn't make any indication that he was going to as he was told.

"Arrom, did you hear the colonel? It is important to be polite to our guests. I can see you spending the rest of the day in the naughty tent very soon."

Jack blinked his surprise at Shamda. He didn't even know the natives used the word naughty and wondered if the tent was something used as punishment for all the tribes children or just Daniel. Daniel had been a handful as an adult and Jack could imagine him causing Shamda trouble now, but one thing was very certain… Shamda cared for Daniel.

"Sorry, O-Jack. I would l-love to show you my pyramid," Daniel muttered not happy about having to answer but still making an effort.

As soon as Daniel was out of hearing range Jack turned to Shamda. You really care about Daniel, don't you," he stated flatly.

"Yes, despite his constant need to challenge me most of the time, I love him as one of my own and would hate to lose him."

Jack understood the other man's affection for Daniel. "Thought this would be easy for me," he said swallowing a lump in his throat," but I know how it is to lose a child. I'm sorry Shamda, but we're here to take Daniel home. A judge from our world has given me sole custody of Daniel."

Shamda looked sadly at Jack and whispered, "Your law has decided and I have to follow it even though it will break my heart to see Arrom leave. Do we have to prepare a farewell feast before he leaves?" He asked hopefully.

Jack released a deep sigh, he just wanted to leave but he could understand Shamda's need for a proper goodbye. "We'll stay, but as soon as it's over we're heading back home with Daniel. Carter will be here shortly with the two doctors' and an escort so you might want to set four extra places.

"You are all welcome. Thank you, O'Neill, for giving us the one last moment with Arrom."

"My people will be here soon to help me discuss this with Daniel, your help would be most appreciated."

"I will do my best to help you O'Neill. Now let us go to Arrom so he can show us his creation."

A mutual truce in place they went to find Daniel. Jack was relieved to see Carter and the doctors standing close by waiting for them. Giving them a small nod he knew it wouldn't be long till he could get his kid home.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

To be Young again # 7

By Rosenquist

Warnings: Some tissue warnings I think

A/N: See rest of the header from part 1. Thank you so much Eilidh for your help, I appreciate them a lot. Thank you Zats for your review :o)

While Daniel played in the sand and the natives prepared for the upcoming feast, SG-1, Dr. Fraiser, and Dr. Wells discussed the best way to convince Daniel to return to Earth with them.

"Colonel, if you want to earn Daniel's trust it's important you don't use force to get him back. It won't work and will only server to further alienate him. You need to approach him in a manner he'll understand and respond to. Remember, he's not functioning at an adult level now."

"And if nothing works? What are we going to do then? Sedate him? I don't really want to go down that path, but if that's what it takes then you have my permission to do it."

"Colonel let's cross that bridge when we get there."

"Sedation would be a method of last resort, colonel. Using them would mean it will take longer for you to get a positive connection to Daniel. Trust will be a bigger issue after that," Dr. Well's said.

"Better than not getting him back at all. Shamda promised me he'd help us and, right now, we need all the help we can get."

oOo

Shamda and Jack had agreed to wait to tell Daniel about him leaving Vis Urban till after the meal so everyone including Daniel could enjoy it.

Before they sat down for the banquet, Shamda told Daniel he would be sitting between him and the Colonel. Daniel tried to argue the point but Shamda would have none of it, and reminded him, once again, about their behavior towards guests. Daniel pouted at first but when he noticed Jack's yo-yo his curiosity got the better of him, and forgot about being mad. It was the first real unforced contact between Daniel and Jack so Shamda chose not to reprimand him for playing with the toy during the feast.

Once Daniel and the other children were finished with their meals they were allowed to go and play even though the adults weren't done. It would be the last time the children would have to play with Daniel.

"So Shamda. Do you use the naughty tent for all your children or did you start it all in Daniel's honor?" Jack asked.

Shamda couldn't help but laugh. "As you must know, Arrom can be a handful and quite a challenge. He touches things without thinking about the consequences and he wanders off. I have been tempted to use a leash but found the tent to be a more appropriate place for him to consider his action when he disobeys. So, yes, I guess we set it up in his honor."

Jack smiled brightly. "I can hear he hasn't changed much except from his mental state."

For the natives the feast ended to fast. Now it was time to tell Daniel what was going to happen. Shamda went with heavy heart to Daniel who still played with the other children.

"Arrom, O'Neill and I need to talk to you."

They went to Shamda's tent to talk in private. Dr's Fraiser and Wells waited close by in case they were needed.

Daniel looked worriedly at Shamda, and whispered, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, son, we needed the privacy to talk to you that is all. Jack and his people are here to take you back to Earth, the planet of your birth. You belong with your family.

"No!" Daniel yelled eyes wide in distress. "You are my family, Shamda. I don't know them. Please, don't make me go with them. I want to stay here."

"You cannot remember them at the moment Arrom, but they are your family. Jack is your friend and he wants to protect and to take care of you."

Tears started to flow freely down Daniel's cheeks. "You don't want me anymore. You hate me. What did I do wrong? I promise I'll behave and do anything you tell me, but please let me stay."

Shamda's heart was breaking. Reining in his emotions he put a comforting arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Arrom, I have been privileged to have you in my life. You are a son to me in every way, but sadly, O'Neill and his people are your true family. You did nothing wrong but I want you to give O'Neill a chance. In time I am sure you will look up to him as a brother, maybe even a father."

"We all care about you, Daniel," Jack pleaded, arms wide. "The team hasn't been the same since you left. If you come back with us we can show you who you were."

Daniel looked from Shamda to Jack, his sadness quickly morphing into anger. "No!" He shouted and stormed out of the tent.

Jack and Shamda followed Daniel at a distance, but Shamda pulled Jack up short when he realized Daniel was heading for the naughty tent. "Let Arrom digest what he has just been told. He quite often uses the tent as a place of solitude to think when he is angry."

"You mean Daniel willingly goes to the tent without being told?" Jack asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, O'Neill. The tent is not only for when he has misbehaved, but when he is seeking solace."

oOo

The evening slowly slid by but Daniel showed no signs of leaving the tent. When the hour grew late, Jack and Shamda decided enough was enough and went to talk to him again.

Throwing back the tent flap they found the room empty.

A quick search of the village revealed no sign of the wayward, recently descended archaeologist. Rallying the villages, a search party was hastily thrown together to search the man out. Everyone silently hoping they would find him safe and sound.

TBC


End file.
